GT5 B-Spec hints and tips
Discussion
Hi all,
firstly I must say, I love and hate B-Spec mode in equal measure, it can be infuriating as hell to get through certain races yet so satisfying when you win a good car you need.
I'm going to tell you a little about how my B-Spec is going, I have five drivers, top is a level 21 and the rest are 15,14 and 13. I am currently grinding in events to get money to buy cars needed to do events.
Levelling up drivers when at a later level is easy, just put a level 0 Bob in a loony car in a level 16 or so race and he'll gain ranks like nobodies business, all my Bobs seem to have similar speed, stamina and strength levels, despite some having only done ten races.
When entering a race you need to consider many things, firstly the tyres, B-Spec restricts tyres far more then A-Spec so make sure you have the best available. Second is your Bobs, is the level of the race lower than your individual Bob level? If not then that effects car selection, you'll need a much more capable car for those races if you want to win, you may also need to babysit your driver to ensure good performance. That is the final thing, the babysitting, if the race is going to be difficult you can't leave your driver to win and hope for the best, you'll need to watch him and constantly manage his mood to ensure good laps and passes.
When pushing your driver's mood around you need to remember a few things, drivers close behind and in front can cause the meter to go up regardless of your input, so whenever in traffic you need to keep saying "reduce pace" to keep the needle in the middle, when in the middle the lap times will be the best and mistakes will be at their minimum. Similarly being out in front or behind will make your needle drop so when in this situation you need to "increase pace" until the middle then "maintain pace" to keep lap times consistent. If you select overtake, your mood will be unaffected so you can't rely on that to keep your pace up, select overtake only when just under middle and you'll pass easily without getting rage or losing so much pace that the overtake fails.
In general, there are few races in B-Spec where you have difficulty winning, most can be over-specced to ensure victory without excessive babysitting and those that are tough can be sorted by grinding and earning a better car or a better rank. For instance win, the minolta in "like the wind" A-Spec to win the same race in B-Spec.
So, anyone got anymore tips they would like to share?
firstly I must say, I love and hate B-Spec mode in equal measure, it can be infuriating as hell to get through certain races yet so satisfying when you win a good car you need.
I'm going to tell you a little about how my B-Spec is going, I have five drivers, top is a level 21 and the rest are 15,14 and 13. I am currently grinding in events to get money to buy cars needed to do events.
Levelling up drivers when at a later level is easy, just put a level 0 Bob in a loony car in a level 16 or so race and he'll gain ranks like nobodies business, all my Bobs seem to have similar speed, stamina and strength levels, despite some having only done ten races.
When entering a race you need to consider many things, firstly the tyres, B-Spec restricts tyres far more then A-Spec so make sure you have the best available. Second is your Bobs, is the level of the race lower than your individual Bob level? If not then that effects car selection, you'll need a much more capable car for those races if you want to win, you may also need to babysit your driver to ensure good performance. That is the final thing, the babysitting, if the race is going to be difficult you can't leave your driver to win and hope for the best, you'll need to watch him and constantly manage his mood to ensure good laps and passes.
When pushing your driver's mood around you need to remember a few things, drivers close behind and in front can cause the meter to go up regardless of your input, so whenever in traffic you need to keep saying "reduce pace" to keep the needle in the middle, when in the middle the lap times will be the best and mistakes will be at their minimum. Similarly being out in front or behind will make your needle drop so when in this situation you need to "increase pace" until the middle then "maintain pace" to keep lap times consistent. If you select overtake, your mood will be unaffected so you can't rely on that to keep your pace up, select overtake only when just under middle and you'll pass easily without getting rage or losing so much pace that the overtake fails.
In general, there are few races in B-Spec where you have difficulty winning, most can be over-specced to ensure victory without excessive babysitting and those that are tough can be sorted by grinding and earning a better car or a better rank. For instance win, the minolta in "like the wind" A-Spec to win the same race in B-Spec.
So, anyone got anymore tips they would like to share?
Cote D'Azur/Monaco in the Historic cup... hardest B spec so far, barring the Nascar Daytona race.
Couple of cars will do this, (Toyota 7, Ferrari P4, Chap 2J or 2D) but max the downforce front and rear, and set the gearing to 160mph max. Any faster, he'll be too slow out of the corners, any lower and he will wheelspin everywhere.
Also check the starting lineup - if you have 2 or more of the Toyota 7 or Chap 2J in front of you, then quit and restart for a better chance. It will still take 5-6 laps to get to position 2, then hustle the lead car 'til they make an error.
It is better to change the view from camera tracking to cockpit, and issue the commands based on what you see. Do NOT issue an overtake command as you go into the tunnel, as he will crash at the bus stop, instead use increase pace. Likewise, on the final double right into the pit straight, use increase pace rather than overtake. As you cross the start/finish line, go for overtake, and issue another as soon as the timer runs down to give him a good pace up the hill.
The prize is the '65 Alfa TZ2.
Couple of cars will do this, (Toyota 7, Ferrari P4, Chap 2J or 2D) but max the downforce front and rear, and set the gearing to 160mph max. Any faster, he'll be too slow out of the corners, any lower and he will wheelspin everywhere.
Also check the starting lineup - if you have 2 or more of the Toyota 7 or Chap 2J in front of you, then quit and restart for a better chance. It will still take 5-6 laps to get to position 2, then hustle the lead car 'til they make an error.
It is better to change the view from camera tracking to cockpit, and issue the commands based on what you see. Do NOT issue an overtake command as you go into the tunnel, as he will crash at the bus stop, instead use increase pace. Likewise, on the final double right into the pit straight, use increase pace rather than overtake. As you cross the start/finish line, go for overtake, and issue another as soon as the timer runs down to give him a good pace up the hill.
The prize is the '65 Alfa TZ2.
I thought my b spec had improved but still manages to f
k up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it.
He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally fks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point 
k up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it. He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally f
ks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point hostyle said:
Hmmm... little discovery I made last night concerning Bob. If you manage to keep his temper in the middle bit (not hot and not cold). He gets more experience points after the race. So coach him well (mostly telling him to slow down) and after some races he really improves and stops making stupid mistakes. Instead mine now just gets the driver in front of him to f*ck up, making passing easy as hell. It might take a bit longer for him to get to 1st place, but he manages just fine 
from the other thread S3_Graham said:
mines driving an 820hp murci and couldnt beat a macca F1 round high speed ring. makes me wonder some times. he is doing the 'ring GP atm. luckily he is waaay out front as he cannot do the final chicane without going on the grass and going massively sideways!
I used the 1200bhp 1200kg Veyron for those races he loved it
Killer2005 said:
I thought my b spec had improved but still manages to fk up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it.
He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally fks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point
My driver has moments of genius, like keeping an Enzo at bay at Monza in a lightly tuned 458, yet at the same time he just drives like a retard in some other cars, not understanding how to overtake properly.k up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it. He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally f
ks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point Mine was the other way around, Laguna Seca he won, all on his own (I went off to do something), from the back, just set it going.
The Daytona one though, he was last after a lap, braking all over the shop for no reason.
I believe there is some magic to the hot/cool and energy bars and setting what you want them to do... but it's very tough when they just heat up all on their own in traffic.
Ie, if they are cooling down, you can speed them up = good. But when they heat up, you can only cool them down by reducing pace, but then you lose all your places very very quickly.
You can run them hot for a bit, but eventually it does start to cost with mistakes, faster energy use, and crappier lap times...
The main problem I've found is just overtaking. The AI can't overtake very well. Even in a slip-stream they can end up braking and pulling back in when they could easily pass and late brake. Sometimes they get to an apex nose ahead, and rather than keep the line, they BRAKE for the car they just passed to go back in front. WHAT!
I've not found a good way to ensure you can get forward in a race, sometimes even with a much faster car they can struggle to overtake... but then that might be down to the tune level of the car... but then that said, my b-spec driver seems to blow most things into the weeds in the 750bhp sub 1 tonne Cobra
Dave
Killer2005 said:
I thought my b spec had improved but still manages to fk up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it.
He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally fks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point
Daytona was no problem for him, he had got loads of pretty upgrades to go like stink. But, he struggled with Leguna. Ended up with me hounding him to overtake then go faster. At one point he pretty much went straight down the corkscrew, rather than around it! Anyway, he ended up wining by 0.029 seconds. I'd have gone spare if he didn't win. I need an excuse to buy a new TV, but I don't think a PS3 remote in my current one is good enough.k up. He'd just won the british championship, Mini race, Lupo Cup and Lamborghini championship so I thought I'd give him another go at the sport truck championship to see if he could do something in it. He won the Daytona race by about 5 seconds, yet he can't get past 4th in the Laguna Seca race. He crashes, gets overtaken round the outside of corners and generally f
ks up. He was even braking on the pit straight at one point y2blade said:
from the other thread
Thanks for the add 
Another thing that I mentioned that keeps him cool is to give the 'reduce pace' command directly at the start. He then manages to slice through the traffic much easier. In his first RWD race in a 370Z with some mods (mostly exhaust, breathing and suspension) he managed to get 2nd place. 3rd and 4th place were crashing around him (Merc Cosworth and Toyota Supra), he just kept his tight lines and almost overtook 1st on teh home stretch. He is level 4 and it was a level 4 race.
I believe that giving Bob a car and race suited to his level will probably give the best result if you can manage to keep him in the middle of the bar.
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
in the last race i did, i concentrated on keeping him middle of the gauge, then got pissed off with him constantly sitting on their rear and not overtaking, so i just hammered the speed up button for 2 laps and he was on max red but he actually got his arse in gear and overtook!I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
Likewise, I'm having no troubles at all with Bob. I get the impression most people are simply starting the race and then ignoring him, which will only work on particularly easy races, with completely dominant cars. I was able to throw mine into most races with a slightly better car, and just occasionally tell him to overtake/speed up when he cooled down. Haven't struggled with any races since the Truck race at Daytona (Slows down too much in corners), and the Historic racing cars at Monaco (Repeatedly crashing at the bus stop). Managed both in the end with enough tweaking of the car/commands.I am only on lvl 13, but have had no difficulties with my Bob whatsoever. I chose the wrong car for him for the classic muscle car race, but nothing a fair bit of tuning couldn't fix. The same car then went on to win the Muscle Car Championship & Supercar Festival.
So long as you keep him balanced, and tell him to overtake when appropriate, then all he should need is a slightly better car to walk the races. (mine are level 23/level 14 now)
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I thought this but it is bks!!I'm trying to win like the wind in my minolta and keeping him in the middle is s
te! Now I've been spamming the up arrow without respite for 17 laps and I can't see second place! When he took the lead I never let up, spare trhe rod and all that, he just kept pulling and pulling! I had the lead in the middle mood and he couldn't hold it, he kept losing it and going fourth! I've just won by a comfortable three seconds with Bob never leaving the very top of the mood bat for an entire 18 laps!!!! I also got 8342 XP points, not sure how many you'd normally get.What's the cheapest option for German car for the Schwarzwalde B cup? Tried it in a 905 BHP RS6, but can't do better than 3rd. I'm guessing a lightly fettled R8 should do it, unless there's something cheaper? There was a Yellowbird in the UCD last night that I probably should have picked up…
Edited by vdubbin on Tuesday 14th December 13:20
freecar said:
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I thought this but it is bks!!I'm trying to win like the wind in my minolta and keeping him in the middle is s
te! Now I've been spamming the up arrow without respite for 17 laps and I can't see second place! When he took the lead I never let up, spare trhe rod and all that, he just kept pulling and pulling! I had the lead in the middle mood and he couldn't hold it, he kept losing it and going fourth! I've just won by a comfortable three seconds with Bob never leaving the very top of the mood bat for an entire 18 laps!!!! I also got 8342 XP points, not sure how many you'd normally get.I've had a driver do best they did for the whole race once their energy/mental were at 0 and they were in the red on the mood bar!
Dave
Mr Whippy said:
freecar said:
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I thought this but it is bks!!I'm trying to win like the wind in my minolta and keeping him in the middle is s
te! Now I've been spamming the up arrow without respite for 17 laps and I can't see second place! When he took the lead I never let up, spare trhe rod and all that, he just kept pulling and pulling! I had the lead in the middle mood and he couldn't hold it, he kept losing it and going fourth! I've just won by a comfortable three seconds with Bob never leaving the very top of the mood bat for an entire 18 laps!!!! I also got 8342 XP points, not sure how many you'd normally get.I've had a driver do best they did for the whole race once their energy/mental were at 0 and they were in the red on the mood bar!
Dave
I think it's good the way that nobody quite understands the details of how B-spec works. Reminds me of the days before game guides were so readily available, when anything you could work out (accurate or not) was considered gospel.
Meoricin said:
Mr Whippy said:
freecar said:
EvoDelta said:
I think a lot of people are confusing the increase pace command as go faster... I don't think it works like this. By reducing pace he also makes less mistakes, and ends up going faster. If you can't keep him in the mid-range with commands, then I suspect the race or the car is too high a level for the driver.
I thought this but it is bks!!I'm trying to win like the wind in my minolta and keeping him in the middle is s
te! Now I've been spamming the up arrow without respite for 17 laps and I can't see second place! When he took the lead I never let up, spare trhe rod and all that, he just kept pulling and pulling! I had the lead in the middle mood and he couldn't hold it, he kept losing it and going fourth! I've just won by a comfortable three seconds with Bob never leaving the very top of the mood bat for an entire 18 laps!!!! I also got 8342 XP points, not sure how many you'd normally get.I've had a driver do best they did for the whole race once their energy/mental were at 0 and they were in the red on the mood bar!
Dave
I think it's good the way that nobody quite understands the details of how B-spec works. Reminds me of the days before game guides were so readily available, when anything you could work out (accurate or not) was considered gospel.
It seems you can push your guy harder when in a slower/easier car - my bob does better lap times right in the red in a FWD car with good tyres, but in a RWD on comforts it's definitely better to keep him cooler. So maybe it's not as simple as keeping the dial centred, maybe it's a case of judging the optimum point for the particular car/driver combo?
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